Clearing Up Some Misconceptions about the Practice of Yoga

Perhaps everybody in Berkeley, California has heard of yoga. Yoga is a holistic exercise that addresses the body, mind and spirit. People usually associate yoga with the different types of poses that practitioners do or the meditation involved in it. While these aspects are also important, there is more to yoga than these.

There are people who engage in yoga because it is the current fad. They do yoga without full knowledge of what the practice aims to achieve and its benefits. As a result, many people have misconceptions about yoga. If you want to consider yoga as an alternative exercise or for meditation, it may help if you know a little more about yoga and the misconceptions associated with it.

First, a lot of people think flexibility is the key to a successful yoga practice. If you want to practice yoga but feel you are not flexible enough, do not fret. You can start with the basics and work your way up as you hone your skills. On the other hand, flexibility does not mean you can immediately be a yoga expert. While this can help, mental and spiritual discipline are also crucial in yoga.

Yoga is not a sport. It is an individual practice. Thus you are competing only with yourself and not with anyone else. Do not worry if you are a little behind in doing the poses or in achieving balance. In time you will be able to do them all perfectly. If you try to compete with your classmates, you can hurt yourself.

A lot of people are hesitant to try yoga because they perceive it as another religion. The Berkeley yoga class is not a religion. It is related to Buddhism and Hinduism in a way that yoga is practiced in these religions. Buddhists and Hindus use yoga to achieve tranquility and spiritual perfection. Yoga does not worship any god or spiritual being, nor does it impose any religious tradition to practitioners.

In a Berkeley yoga studio, you may see a lot of people doing poses and stretches. Some of these may look easy but they are actually physically challenging. While yoga is a low-impact physical exercise, it is still good if you prepare your body to avoid injury.

The classes in yoga studios Berkeley has requires a lot of patience, stamina, discipline and perseverance. It is also good therapy for chronic back pain, to relieve stress and can help in concentration among athletes. You can learn more about yoga from yogabasics.com and yogajournal.com.